GEOLOGY

EARTH SCIENCE

OCEANS

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
Which of these is the main chemical building block of all living things?
A
carbon
B
hydrogen
C
nitrogen
D
oxygen
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -They are, in order of least to most common: sulfur, phosphorous, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, and hydrogen. The basis of life is carbon. Carbon’s importance comes mainly from the enormous variety of structures that it can form due to its unusual four valence electrons.

Detailed explanation-2: -All living things contain carbon in some form. Carbon is the primary component of macromolecules, including proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and carbohydrates. Carbon’s molecular structure allows it to bond in many different ways and with many different elements.

Detailed explanation-3: -The building block of structural organic chemistry is the tetravalent carbon atom. With few exceptions, carbon compounds are formulated with four covalent bonds to each carbon, regardless of whether the combination is with carbon or some other element like hydrogen.

Detailed explanation-4: -Life exists in a myriad of wondrous forms, but if you break any organism down to its most basic parts, it’s all the same stuff: carbon atoms connected to hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and other elements. But how these fundamental substances are created in space has been a longstanding mystery.

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